There is one thing I know for sure about this cold snap that we are having, the fish are on the CHEW big time. This weekend was the 41st Frank Schneider Jr. Muskie Tournament, and it left most anglers with big smiles. I left for the cabin on Wednesday night after work with my fishing partner Max. Our plan was to do a little fun fishing prior to the Tournament on Friday. More on that a little later! We meet up with our group on Thursday afternoon at Sugar Bush Resort on Big Lake. This year we had six in our group, and on a last minute decision, which was a good one, Dan Vogel from Dunwright Tackle came up with his partner Keith. We sat in the cabin on Thursday talking about the weather conditions, and where we were going to find our fish. Water temps were at 68 degrees when we put the boats into Big. The forecast called for dropping temps, and major fronts to push through the area. Prime conditions for Lunge hunting. Dan Vogel came loaded with Lifelike’s, and told everyone in the group to help themselves to anything, and we did! Thanks Dan!!! Shortly after that we all headed to bed, knowing that we had good conditions for the first day of the Tourney. Bill started off with a bang, not 10 minutes into the first day he lands at really nice 42.5, and is on the board. I should note that this was the first time Bill had the chance to throw the Lifelike Series, and I know that he is hooked. Bill also got to butt heads with a 47″ on Sunday. Two fish on the board for Bill. Way to go! Both of Bill’s fish ate a Walleye Squirlly Tail. Bill’s boat partner Bruce got to test his netting skills a few times this weekend and passed with flying colors.
Up next was Mr. Vogel himself with a 45″, again on a Walleye. All of our fish had one very important thing in common, and that was the edge. We worked deep weeds, or should I say deep weed edges. Some of the weeds we found as deep as 20 feet of water. Working these baits on a pull pause was the ticket. Casting it out, working it back over the tops of the weeds, actually making contact with the weeds seemed to trigger the strikes. This very same day, Dan Vogel’s boat partner Keith came within one inch of hitting a legal. Keith boated a 39″ on a big 13″ Dunwright Crank. This fish was also out over very deep water, and wanted a big profile bait. The fish are strapping on the feed bag big time right now, and that was evident by the girth on all the fish we boated, they are eating well!
My boat partner Max and I started off the day with a ton of action in the first hour, but to no avail, nothing made it into the next. We had 7 follows in the first hour, and a few of those fish came back a second and third time, but we just could not close the deal. We continued to move around the lake from deep weed points to midlake humps with deep water adjecent. We knew this pattern was going to produce fish for us, and we kept at it. On one of our moves, we were blasting across the lake and I ran up on a midlake hump that I was not aware of. It was not maked on the graph or on the chip. We stopped and took a closer look. 30+ feet of water all the way around, and on top was a great mix of cabbage and coontail that topped out at 12 feet. We started working our way around this, and not 5 minutes into it, I got drilled on a Walleye Squirrly. This fish was 41″ and my first legal of the Tourney. A few high fives and we were back to hucking. Trusting what we saw on the eletronics is what put this fish in the boat for us. I also got into the mix again on Saturday with a 43″, my second of the Tourney. This was a great Tourney, with a lot of fish boated. It took 5 fish to take first place, and the tenth position had 3 fish. I believe that big fish for the Tourney was 55″, Good greif! Thanks for the great weekend guys, I am already looking forward to it again next year!
Now a little more about my adventures from Thursday. As I had said earlier, Max and I decided to hit the water for some fun on Thursday. We hit one of my favorite lakes near the cabin that I have been fishing for a number of years. We started off with a really big fish follow to the boat. I would have guessed this fish in the mid-50″, a real tank. As we fished through the day, the wind started to pick up, and we made a decision to go and brave the windy side of the lake. We did notice that a lot of the cabbage was starting to brown up, and the water clarity was dingy. We ran across a great cabbage bed on the windy side, and it was still green. With the wind pounding in on the weeds, there were baitfish so thick on the eletronics it was hard to read the bottom. I was working a Lifelike perch, and riding out the waves, when another good fish came hot to the boat, but it ran out of real estate, and turned away at the last second. We got to the end of the weed bed, when I hear Max say he got a good fish following. I turn around to see what looked to be about a 48-50 hot on his bait. Again, we just ran out of room, and the fish sank to the depths. We decided to make one more run down this weed bed and then we were going to call it a day and go meet up with the boys at Sugar Bush Resort. I am happy we made that one last pass!! About 6 casts into the start of the weed bed, I got blasted. This was a strike that made the rod pop, and almost come out of my hands. In that wind I don’t think Max could hear me say, FISH ON! Max turned around and see’s me getting worked over big time, and dives to the bottom of the boat for the net. This was when I got my first look, and about came unglued. The fish came to the surface, smiled at me, and then went for deep water, and fast. At this point Max had his head down in the bottom of the boat reaching for the net, and had not gotten a chance to see the fish. I got her turned around and heading back twards the boat, when all of a sudden she surfaces right at our feet, we both had our hearts skip a beat. Knowing that we just had to get this pig in the boat, we let her make one more run, and when she turned back again for the boat, just like it was on que, Max scooped her up. We both looked down in the net and could not believe the girth on this fish. It hit the tape at 50.25 X 24, a few photos and we put that momma back to fight another day. For an early September fish, this thing had some girth all the way through. A few high fives, a good cold beer, and we left the lake with great satisfaction and big smiles on our faces. Thanks for the net job Buddy!
All around it was a great weekend to be lunge hunting in Northern Minnesota. I can’t wait for this fall!
Happy Hunting!!!
Fantastic report Bob. Those are some beautiful fish!
Man you have been on some serious beasts this year. You seriously need to considering getting a 60 inch MSRD board. Now that would be wayyyyy cool to see a big tuna on one of those maple fish measuring boards.
MSRD Board!
Very cool read and pictures again Bob
Them ski’s must shake in there skins when they know you are on there waters
What a great write up Bob!!
The girth on that +50″ looks like a late October-early November fish!
You have those Magnums on speed dial this year that’s for sure.
Excellent job and here’s to a great tourney
Bob,
Im starting to get DeJa Vu as I write this!
Congratulations and what a great read, and also what a absolute TANK! 
No denying it YOU DA MAN 
Keep it up.
Bobby,
You are on a hot roll buddy…and it just keeps rollin for ya. Congrats!
That 50-1/4″ fish is a tank..Wow!
Wow, awesome fish, photo’s and report Bob!
I’m not really a muskie guy, but that read definitely got my blood going.
Great job!
That thing is SICK! You pretty much get lost behind that fish!
Congrats, buddy. Nobody works harder out there… you definitely earn all the fish you put in the net.
Great fish Bob! Those things are amazing!
Tourney results in full—–
Standing Contestant Trna Reg # Jr. Age M/N Length #1 Length #2 Length #3 Length #4 Length #5 Points #1 Points #2 Points #3 Points #4 Points #5 Total Points Lake
1 Mike Lundberg 1277 M 41.5 42 43 45.5 45.5 11.5 12 13 15.5 15.5 67.5 Leech
2 Damien Williams 1329 M 43 49 44 49 13 19 14 19 65 Big
3 Mark Shepperd 2505 M 40.5 48 43 43 10.5 18 13 13 54.5 Leech
4 Joel Dehmer 2055 M 41.5 42 41.5 44.5 11.5 12 11.5 14.5 49.5 Leech
5 Kris Astorp 1504 M 47.5 43 48 17.5 13 18 48.5 Pike
7 Ted Roos 1268 M 44.5 48 45 14.5 18 15 47.5 Cass
8 Brett Murawski 1687 M 54.5 52.5 24.5 22.5 47 Bemidji
9 Brian Miller 2262 M 49 42.5 44 19 12.5 14 45.5 Leech
6 John M. Schwartz 1548 M 41.5 46.5 46.5 11.5 16.5 16.5 44.5 Cass
10 Jason Hauser 1655 M 49.5 40.5 42 19.5 10.5 12 42 Leech
11 Larry Beaver 1034 M 45 43.5 41.5 15 13.5 11.5 40 Cass
12 Jeff Anderson+B91 2467 M 53 46.5 23 16.5 39.5 Bemidji
13 Ron Labrosse 1226 M 50 49 20 19 39 Bemidji
14 Greg O’Brian 1636 M 41.5 45.5 41.5 11.5 15.5 11.5 38.5 Leech
15 Joseph Clark 1717 M 46 52.5 16 22.5 38.5 Bemidji
16 Dwight Nordstrom 2504 M 50 48 20 18 38 Leech
17 Rick Brown 1210 M 49 46.5 19 16.5 35.5 Cass
18 Mike Boen 1902 M 45 50 15 20 35 Woman
19 Jamie Murphy 1229 M 45 48.5 15 18.5 33.5 Leech
20 Jeff Pearson 1927 M 45 47 15 17 32 Big
21 Brian Truax 1227 M 44 48 14 18 32 Bemidji
23 Travis Hultgren 1579 M 46 43.5 16 13.5 29.5 Leech
24 Bill Keilen 1584 M 42 47 12 17 29 Big
22 Patricia A. Berglund 1683 M 45.5 42 15.5 12 27.5 Bemidji
25 Loren Flom 1699 M 44 43.5 14 13.5 27.5 Big
26 Eric Redman 1296 M 43 44 13 14 27 Leech
27 Dan Bosshart 1242 M 44 42.5 14 12.5 26.5 Leech
28 Eric Bakke 1285 M 40.5 45.5 10.5 15.5 26 Big
29 Robert Bowman 1582 M 43 41 13 11 24 Big
30 Libby Hoene 1058 M 52.5 22.5 22.5 Bemidji
31 Doug Lykke 1913 M 52 22 22 Woman
32 Jerry Ash 1585 M 50.5 20.5 20.5 Leech
33 Craig Angell 1625 M 50.5 20.5 20.5 Leech
34 Frank Zappa, III 1600 M 50 20 20 Leech
35 Andy Phillips 1292 M 49 19 19 Big
36 Mark Toohey 1028 M 49 19 19 Cass
37 Jon Ross 2464 M 49 19 19 Cass
38 Bill Bosaaen 1914 M 49 19 19 Inguadona
39 Jeff Nail 1039 M 49 19 19 Bemidji
40 Aaron Templin 2377 M 49 19 19 Bemidji
41 Steve Dody 1208 M 48 18 18 Leech
42 Dale Hafeman 1631 M 48 18 18 Cass
43 Mike Robertson 1042 M 47.5 17.5 17.5 Leech
44 Mike Watzl 2301 M 47.5 17.5 17.5 Leech
45 Brad Busho 1734 M 47 17 17 Leech
46 Dave Bretschneider 1041 M 47 17 17 Cass
47 Paul Thorne 2285 M 47 17 17 Cass
48 Collin Swift 1218 M 47 17 17 Leech
49 John Sowares 1245 M 46.5 16.5 16.5 Leech
50 Scott Lynch 1260 M 46 16 16 Leech
51 Bruce Wilson 1068 M 46 16 16 Leech
52 Kendall Klaus 1640 M 46 16 16 Leech
53 Daniel Smith 1587 M 45.5 15.5 15.5 Big
54 Scott Stuntebeck 1531 M 45.5 15.5 15.5 Big
55 Dan Smith 1589 M 45.5 15.5 15.5 Big
56 Dan Kiefer 1207 M 45 15 15 Leech
57 Chris Foster 1302 M 45 15 15 Big
58 Dan Vogel 1726 M 45 15 15 Big
59 David Koch 2400 M 45 15 15 Wabedo
61 William Forga 1923 M 45 15 15 Big
62 Nicholas Albrecht 2554 M 45 15 15 Little Boy
63 Rusty Gerrels 1553 M 45 15 15 Leech
64 John F. Olson 1638 M 45 15 15 Leech
65 Daryl Riley 2260 M 44.5 14.5 14.5 Cass
66 Tim Tveter 1550 M 44.5 14.5 14.5 Bemidji
67 Michal Koch 1679 M 44.5 14.5 14.5 Big
68 Chris Butler 1728 M 44.5 14.5 14.5 Big
69 Erik Heinecke 1755 M 44.5 14.5 14.5 Leech
70 Bryan Hinrichsen 1293 M 44.5 14.5 14.5 Bemidji
71 Mark Kegler 1571 M 44 14 14 Leech
72 Keith Dehmer 1701 M 44 14 14 Leech
73 Doug Jensen 1634 M 44 14 14 Leech
74 Al Emilson 1616 M 43.5 13.5 13.5 Pike Bay
75 William Cornatzer 2453 M 43.5 13.5 13.5 Leech
76 Chris Slogge 1948 M 43.5 13.5 13.5 Leech
77 Nick Von Holdt 1309 M 43.5 13.5 13.5 Bemidji
78 Curt Miller 2261 M 43 13 13 Leech
79 Steve Hedensten 1236 M 43 13 13 Big
80 Brian Nash 2108 M 43 13 13 Leech
81 Dwight Mayer 1521 M 42.5 12.5 12.5 Wabedo
82 Jake Premo 1317 M 42.5 12.5 12.5 Cass
83 Steve Plante 1906 N 42 12 12 Woman
84 Scott Urhammer 1652 M 42 12 12 Cass
85 Ken Lundberg 1567 M 42 12 12 Leech
86 Tim Pietsch 1641 M 42 12 12 Leech
87 Jeff Sommerstad 2062 M 42 12 12 Leech
88 Terry Schwartz 1549 M 42 12 12 Cass
89 Mike Wiest 1633 M 42 12 12 Winnie
90 Roger Larson 2466 M 41.5 11.5 11.5 Leech
91 Joel Oeltzen 1274 M 41.5 11.5 11.5 Cass
92 Pete Filippi 1574 M 41.5 11.5 11.5 Big
93 Juris Ozols 1612 M 41.5 11.5 11.5 Leech
94 William Lanie 1572 M 41 11 11 Leech
95 Jon Wrobel 2366 M 41 11 11 Cass
96 Craig Berryhill 1276 M 41 11 11 Leech
97 Bob Horak 1725 M 41 11 11 Leech
98 Geoff Adam 1213 M 41 11 11 Cass
99 Aaron Featherstone 1951 M 41 11 11 Mann
100 Al Shepperd 2502 M 40.5 10.5 10.5 Leech
101 Jesse Moulzolf 1062 M 40.5 10.5 10.5 Little Boy
102 Joe Black 2103 M 40.5 10.5 10.5 Little Boy
103 Kevin Valley 1311 M 40.5 10.5 10.5 Bemidji
104 David Curry 2274 M 40.5 10.5 10.5 Leech
105 Tim Hoene M 40.5 10.5 10.5 Bemidji
106 John Slanika 2256 M 40.5 10.5 10.5 Cass
107 Chad Wolter 1067 M 40 10 10 Leech
108 Scott Lentsch M 40 10 10 Leech
109 Jim Welle 2254 M 40 10 10 Pike
110 Chris DeKoster 1603 M 40 10 10 Leech
111 Rory Potter 2451 M 40 10 10 Cass
112 Carol Wolto 1319 M 40 10 10 Cass
DUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Simply AAAAMAZING!
Nice fish Bob….
Congrats on the fish Bob. Any other year with those 2 fish you got would have put you up 20 spots. Nice report and pics.
We ended up with 2 legals and 4 short. The young guy of our group of 6 got 2nd in the jr div. We fished leech and we all had action. It was a great time
Wow!
BOY,Those are some nice fish!!
Congrats Bob!
Great fish, no…AWESOME FISH!!!!
Well done.
Tell us more on these baits.
Can you post a picture of these “squirelys? How do you work them?
Here they are. The top two are Squirleys, and the bottom one is a thumper.
I have been working these on a pull and pause
Nice! That 50″er sure has a sexy body!
Great Report!
Great fish Bob – all your hard work and preparation pays off. What do you estimate the 50×24 weighs? It’s a beautifully proportioned fish!
I would guess that fish at upper 30″s,
I’ve had a few encounters with some river skis in the last week. They have your name on them this Thursday!
50x24x24/800= 36# unofficially. Great fish so far this season, Bob!!! Keep up the pace and at the end of the season, you will be able to sit down and smile a big smile. Hope that it continues and you beat the fish above!!! Let ’em go, let ’em grow!!!
Mark